Antonio Dello Iacono, Marco Beato and Israel Halperin

Wingate. Design A randomized cross-over design was used to compare the effects of 2 PAP protocols employing the same conditioning activity (jump squats with OPL) but with different sets configurations (traditional and cluster) on subsequent verticaljump performance assessed by the CMJ test. Subjects

Purpose:

To examine the acute effects of static stretching on countermovement vertical-jump (CMVJ) ability and monitor the time course of any stretch-induced changes.

Methods:

Once familiarized, 16 experienced jumpers completed 2 testing sessions in a randomized order. Each session consisted of a general warm-up, a pretreatment CMVJ assessment, a treatment, and multiple posttreatment CMVJ assessments. One treatment included lower-body static stretching, and the second treatment, involving no stretching, was the control. Posttreatment CMVJ measures occurred immediately, 3, 6, 12, and 24 minutes posttreatment. Stretching consisted of 3 static-stretching exercises, with each exercise repeated 3 times and each repetition held for 30 s.

Results:

Prestretch CMVJ height equaled 47.1 (± 9.7) cm. CMVJ height immediately poststretch was 45.7 (± 9.2) cm, and it remained depressed during the 24-min follow-up period. Pre-no-stretch CMVJ height was 48.4 (± 9.8) cm, whereas immediately post-no-stretch CMVJ height equaled 46.8 (± 9.5) cm, and as in the stretch treatment, post-no-stretch CMVJ height remained lower than pre-no-stretch values. Although there was a significant main effect of time (P = .005), indicating that CMVJ was lower and remained impaired after both treatments, no significant interaction effect (P = .749) was observed.

Conclusion:

In comparison with the no-activity control, static stretching resulted in similar reductions in CMVJ ability when examined over the same time course, so athletes preparing for CMVJ should avoid periods of inactivity, as well as static stretching.

Conclusion:

The results of this study illustrate the importance of developing high levels of lower-body strength to enhance VJ, sprint, and CoDS performance in youth netball players, with stronger athletes demonstrating superior VJ, sprint, and CoDS performances.

load, verticaljump, and maximal strength in well-trained lifters. We hypothesized that the greater variations in training intensity and attention to fatigue management in RI SR would result in superior performance changes compared with RM training. Methods Subjects Fifteen well-trained males

Dimitrios Challoumas and Andreas Artemiou

overhead movement that requires both power and skill and consists of the following phases: windup, cocking, acceleration, deceleration, and follow-through. 3 , 4 Two of the most important factors determining the success of a spike are thought to be the magnitude of the verticaljump (verticaljump height

Filip Sabol, Jozo Grgic and Pavle Mikulic

test of upper-body performance) but not the verticaljump height (a test of lower-body performance). By contrast, Martinez et al 4 reported that a caffeine-containing preworkout supplement did not enhance performance in the medicine ball throw test and the verticaljump test. The caffeine dose in the

Myosotis Massidda, Marco Scorcu and Carla M. Calò

Purpose:

The aim of the current study was to construct a genetic model with a new algorithm for predicting athletic-performance variability based on genetic variations.

Methods:

The influence of 6 polymorphisms (ACE, ACTN-3, BDKRB2, VDR-ApaI, VDR-BsmI, and VDR-FokI) on vertical jump was studied in top-level male Italian soccer players (n = 90). First, the authors calculated the traditional total genotype score and then determined the total weighting genotype score (TWGS), which accounts for the proportion of significant phenotypic variance predicted by the polymorphisms. Genomic DNA was extracted from saliva samples using a standard protocol. Genotyping was performed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Results:

The results obtained from the new genetic model (TWGS) showed that only 3 polymorphisms entered the regression equation (ACTN-3, ACE, and BDKRB2), and these polymorphisms explained 17.68–24.24% of the verticaljump variance. With the weighting given to each polymorphism, it may be possible to identify a polygenic profile that more accurately explains, at least in part, the individual variance of athletic-performance traits.

Conclusions:

This model may be used to create individualized training programs based on a player’s genetic predispositions, as well as to identify athletes who need an adapted training routine to account for individual susceptibility to injury.

Plyometrics is a popular training modality for basketball players to improve power and change-of-direction speed. Most plyometric training has used sagittal-plane exercises, but improvements in change-of-direction speed have been greater in multidirection programs.

Purpose:

To determine the benefits of a 6-wk frontal-plane plyometric (FPP) training program compared with a 6-wk sagittal-plane plyometric (SPP) training program with regard to power and change-of-direction speed.

Methods:

Fourteen female varsity high school basketball players participated in the study. Multiple 2 × 2 repeated-measures ANOVAs were used to determine differences for the FPP and SPP groups from preintervention to postintervention on 4 tests of power and 2 tests of change-of-direction speed.

Results:

There was a group main effect for time in all 6 tests. There was a significant group × time interaction effect in 3 of the 6 tests. The SPP improved performance of the countermovement vertical jump more than the FPP, whereas the FPP improved performance of the lateral hop (left) and lateral-shuffle test (left) more than the SPP. The standing long jump, lateral hop (right), and lateral-shuffle test (right) did not show a significant interaction effect.

Conclusions:

These results suggest that basketball players should incorporate plyometric training in all planes to improve power and change-of-direction speed.

Conclusion:

Data indicate the ability to produce higher peak and instantaneous forces and IRFD is related to JH and to smaller differences between weighted and unweighted jump heights. Stronger athletes jump higher and show smaller decrements in JH with load. A weighted jump may be a practical method of assessing relative strength levels.